Atlanta Hawks: Still undecided on coach, ASG to try again Friday
Another day passed with no decision by the Hawks on which of three candidates to offer their vacant head coach position. They’ll deliberate again on Friday and hope to reach agreement on extending an offer to Dwane Casey, Larry Drew or Mark Jackson.
Atlanta’s delay in making a decision illustrates the complexities of a process that includes members of the Atlanta Spirit ownership group and GM Rick Sund. A person with knowledge of the process said each candidate has support within the organization, adding that the varying schedules of the decision-makers also has contributed to the delay.
Atlanta parted ways with Mike Woodson after the season. The Hawks, Cavaliers and Clippers are the only teams without a coach after Avery Johnson, once a Hawks candidate, accepted the New Jersey job yesterday.
MC
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234 comments Add your comment
Ramon
June 11th, 2010
8:50 am
SC Smith, Van Gundy and Scott have both been FIRED TWICE! So its not as if both of these ‘drivers’ come with experience of winning a checker flag. The more experience without rings, just mean the more times that coach has failed.
JEWELL ROLLEN
June 11th, 2010
9:02 am
GRANDDAD. BYRON SCOTT TOOK THE NETS TO THE NBA FINALS…TWICE! TO INCLUDE LARRY (I’VE NEVER BEEN A HEAD COACH) DREW AND NOT SCOTT IS A JOKE. AND THE APG WILL GET WHAT THEY DESERVE!
O'Brien
June 11th, 2010
9:11 am
Ramon,
You really believe it was suggested to sund to slow it down to see what doc is doing?
On the chance that doc might leave Boston? On the chance that he may want to coach somewhere else? On the chance he may want to coach the hawks (who chose Woody over him 6 years ago)? On the chance the ASG might pay his asking price?
I disagree. That would be too many chances for sund and the ASG.
And the issue for the hawks is not that they are taking long. The issue is they can’t agree who to hire.
ryan
June 11th, 2010
9:16 am
I think this is the end of the Spirit group owning the Hawks and Thrashers they have no money and no direction.
Mike is back
June 11th, 2010
9:21 am
MC, hoopsworld seems to be under the impression that it still will be Casey. However, by the time you get a chance to respond to this comment…it will probably be already announce.
I KEEP HEARING PEOPLE SAY…the ASG needs to sell the Thrashers and concentrate on the Hawks. However, I think the opposite is true. Clearly, the divide that sent the owners to court still exist. How else can you explain this recent debacle with the coaching search? WHO ALWAYS TAKES THE HIT…THE FANS OF COURSE!!!
No the ASG doesn’t need to sell the Thrasher…their pockets are deep for a Hockey team. However, they clearly need to sell the Hawks. When an organization has this much dissension amongst its leaders…they will always under achieve.
Ramon
June 11th, 2010
9:36 am
Maybe us, the fans, should create a new site called WeWantANewOwner.com lol With blogs and petition about our distaste for ASG.
Big Ray
June 11th, 2010
9:52 am
1) I don’t think Steve Smith wants to coach. At least not right now. Maybe not ever. But it’s nice wishful thinking to ponder him as a Hawks head coach.
2) Assistant coaches are only as effective as their boss (the head coach) allows them to be. Do you think Thibodeau would be such a hot prospect if Doc Rivers didn’t let him run the defense and be so prominent on the sideline? For that reason alone, I say stop bashing Larry Drew for all the things Mike Woodson had control of.
3) A franchises’ owner or group of owners should not have this much spotlight all the time. More importantly, they should not have their flaws in the spotlight so much. They are only hurting themselves and this franchise. Every time an owner(s) is in the spotlight this much, it’s because they are either selling the team, firing somebody, or “F”-ing something up. More often than not, it’s that last one. Let your GM do his job. Whether he makes himself look like an a$$ or a champ, it’s all on him, and not you as the owner(s). That’s the way it’s supposed to work.
On the flip side of the coin, if you’re going to micromanage, then you better be out there making big moves and spending money. Nothing is worse than constantly micromanaging, and being a cheapskate at the same time. Public image then takes a major hit, and image/marketing is very important. You would think that businessmen would know that.
4) Yes, Rick Sund IS finding out why Billy Knight “quit.” Maybe Sund has more patience. We shall see.
5) Apparently trusting your general manager precludes the need/desire to get your hands in the mix. Seems the ASG would know by now that they don’t know how to pick a coach. They rebuffed Knight every time he tried to fire Woody, then along comes Sund, who decides to let him go.
That should have been clue #1 right there – you don’t know what you’re doing on the coaching scene, let the professional you hired handle it.
6) If I’m Joe Johnson, I’m outta here as fast as I can go. Why stick around for this foolishness?
Big Ray
June 11th, 2010
9:53 am
Hey, is David McDavid still wanting an NBA team of his own? Somebody got his number?
Thanks a lot, Ted Turner. Sold us out to your son and his friends. You deserve to be sued…
bigdave
June 11th, 2010
9:55 am
if the Hawks want Doc they could contact him/his agent now to see if there is mutual interest. they aren’t waiting for Rivers. speculation would be all in the media by now.
bigdave
June 11th, 2010
9:57 am
“If I’m Joe Johnson, I’m outta here as fast as I can go. Why stick around for this foolishness?”
or why would any other free agent or proven coach want to join it..
Ramon
June 11th, 2010
9:59 am
Big Ray, did David McDavid want to move the team though? It was a few owners who wanted to buy the Hawks and move them.
devoted reader
June 11th, 2010
10:03 am
Omg, look at all these comments! Screwing up not one, but two teams! Look how much damage they (ASG) have done, and doing it over, and over again. Look at the Thrashers – a decade of bad decisions, but of course, we hear that (DW) ” we are moving the right direction”… As long as ASG owns these teams, there is no good future for either one of them. So pathetic!
Hawks get flushed
June 11th, 2010
10:04 am
What we waitin same as No coach for Thrashers inept owners n president is Waddell makin decison on Hawks coach to…
Grandad
June 11th, 2010
10:10 am
Ramon – Don’t let your frustrations get the best of you.
it means they took their time made
a good decision & everything is running smoothly with
our Hawks.
Do not let the negativity overcome you.
Most decisions that are solid are made with time & deliberation.
C’mon now, be patient, we are almost home.
RS & the ASG are not Arthur Blank + Dimitroff but we are -NOT-
the “Clippers” either.
Relax, think positive.
Grandad
June 11th, 2010
10:13 am
*If they hire Casey*
Was omitted as the beginning of 2nd sentence.
Don’t know how that happened?
sbeck
June 11th, 2010
10:24 am
None of the ones considered will take us to the next level. You dont hire Avery Johnson with experience but you consider hiring Mark Jackson with none. He is a good announcer but I doubt he will be a good coach. The Hawks are going backwards!
Hawks73
June 11th, 2010
10:24 am
Enter your comments here
Terrell
June 11th, 2010
10:26 am
Does anyone know why they fired B Scott? It was because the team wasn’t winning. That’s why the hornets fired him. He didn’t played his younger guys ala Woody and you all want him as a coach? The only person on the Hornets that was mad he got fired was Chris Paul so what does that tell you?
The Flash
June 11th, 2010
10:27 am
This is a tug of war between Gearon, on the one hand, and the dudes from DC on the other, who could agree on only one thing–how to get rid of Belkin so they could continue their game of King of the Hill without the one guy who could actually manage an organization and make strategic decisions.
They hired a GM and a damn good one and he should be making this decision.
The reason that he is not is because the tragi-farce of a game of King of the Hill goes on. You can bet that the negotiations about the head coach will include trade offs about who gets to name which assistants, or who gets to decide on how much to pay which free agent, etc.
Sund, I’d have to believe, is pretty pissed off by now. However, he has done well by this team and I’m sure he is in there fighting. I have to think at the end of the day he will decide which of the candidates will be hired, or will not be around long.
Life is too short and he is too good to put up with these three guys treating the Hawks as their play toy. He will not be able to stop that completely but, in the end, will have his pick among the choices that are now on the table. Whether they are his choices to begin with is, however, anybody’s guess.
I hate to say I told you so but I did. When this battle with Belkin began over the trumpted up issue of whether they needed to give the picks to get JJ after they had bought the pot with the dollar offer, I said that BK had sold his soul for 10 pieces of silver, that he didn’t know it but he had emasculated himself, and that Gearon and the DC dudes would soon turn on eachother, because that is what guys like them do.
You guys had a real chance for decent ownership until Stern bailed out when Gearon et al failed to ever have their own evaluation of the team conducted and the Md court of appeals screwed the pooch by overturning a well-grounded decision of the trial judge.
Now you are stuck with a bunch of bad boys masquerading as an ownership “team” but who are its antithesis.
The media in this town should be demanding to know WTF is going on, how in heaven’s name ownership has not ceded complete authority to make this decision to Sund, whose job it is to make it and who has shown himself to be a very, very capable GM
Jason
June 11th, 2010
10:32 am
“adding that the varying schedules of the decision-makers also has contributed to the delay.” – Wish we could change that about the franchise. Not a fan of ownership groups OR corporate ownerships. Individual and family ownerships seem to make smarter decisions and keep the franchise more in touch with the community.
dap01
June 11th, 2010
10:41 am
Surely, the media will question this obviously foolish decision making process.
Carpet Bagger
June 11th, 2010
10:53 am
I’d pay money to watch CHARLES BARKLEY coach. He’d at least tell Josh Smith to grow up when he needs to. Imagine the post game interviews.
Charles- “We were terrrrible tonight. Mike Bibby need to retirrrre. He can’t guard a shopping mall with those neeeees.” “If I had half of Josh Smith’s abbbbbbilty I’d still be playing.”
It’d be golden. A lot more fun to watch then someone acting like they can make this group contenders when we all know better.
Get a center first. Move Al (the hardest working man in the biz, to PF)
Then worry about a coach.
It don’t matter until we get some size. No Joe Smith don’t count.
Ramon
June 11th, 2010
11:00 am
Grandad, the problem is the ownership disagree so much, and take so long to make wrong decisions. Last season they took a good while to re-sign Bibby and Marvin. Although they took that long, they still made a wrong decision in overpaying both of them. During the playoff series, the owners should have already been prepared of what to do if they decided to retain Woodson, or if they decided to let him go. If its not a unanimous choice, take a vote on four options CASEY- JACKSON- DREW- OR NEITHER. The one who has the most votes, go with that option. Majority of these owners don’t know anything about basketball. So its frustrating sometimes as a fan.
Think about it before you say it
June 11th, 2010
11:14 am
It’s funny to me how many people say that we shouldn’t look at Larry Drew. So many have said he’s Mike Woodson partII. This is ignorant. For one, how many of you would expect to be considered for your manager’s job if he/she were to move on. And how many of you would resent the notion that you are not your own person.
Second, I think it speaks volumes when you have a lead assistant who tried to leave but was basically held at gunpoint by his contract. Since he tried to leave, that would indicate he didn’t like the directoin the team was being directed.
Third, for all you same folks saying that it should be Phil Jackson, you need to consider the fact that he had the same detractors stating that he was just Doug Collins part II. Yes, that’s right….PJ was Doug Collins’ assistant. I’m just sayin’…..
Better to have people wonder if you’re a fool, than open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Khao$
June 11th, 2010
11:17 am
The Hawks biggest problem isn’t who is playing the 5, running too many isolations for Joe, Josh’s immaturity or a switching defense. The issue is upstairs: The ASG.
Khao$
June 11th, 2010
11:31 am
My question to all is this: what is the true role of an Assistant Coach NBA? Are they simply called upon to help run drills in practice or are they relied upon to provide significant imput to the Head Coach that will influence the game plan?
If it is the latter (ala Tom Thibedeux for Boston, Avery Johnson under Don Nelson, or Tex Winters and his Triange for Phil Jackson), I do believe people are are justified in their concerns that Larry Drew is going to be the next coach. Based off Thibedeux (sp), Johnson, and Winter’s examples, word gets around the league when an assistant has placed his imprint on a team without usurping power from the HC. I don’t see nor have I heard that Larry Drew has done such with our Hawks…and he’s been on our sidelines for 6 years. Nobody has been knocking on our door to make him THEIR HEAD COACH. The Alvin Gentry comparison falls short because Gentry has been a head coach before.
IMHO Either 1) Drew didn’t bring anything to the table to make Woody rethink his strategies, player development or rotations, 2)Drew was in agreement with Woody’s style of play, 3)Drew was too silent OR 4) Woody was too stubborn to listen to Drew and ownership and the players knew it.
If it’s not example four, there is NO WAY Drew becomes my coach. I’m sorry, but after losing by the largest point margin in PLAYOFF HISTORY, the idea of anyone coming in from Woodson’s staff terrifies me.
I believe Drew is a good guy. He’s a family man, for sure. He wanted to move out west to be closer to his son, but the ASG wouldn’t let him out of his contract. All that being said, I’m not sold on him being our coach.
Truth be told, Woody’s rep around the league (if we recall media reports before we hired him) shined brighter than Drew’s.
The Truth
June 11th, 2010
11:47 am
One thing for sure; the longer the ASG wait, the more likely it will NOT BE Casey. His issue may have nothing to do with his basketball knowledge or X’s and O’s. After reviewing his video interview (again), it may have more do with his even uninspiring temperament and lack of NBA player experience. That would translate into questions about his ability to motivate his players. In other words, could he actually motivate and inspire players like Josh and Al to play harder even though he’s telling them all the Right things? It is without question, that Casey is a “nice guy”. The problem is that “nice guys” with the wrong temperament and no NBA playing experience will likely always finish last. Kevin McHale main reason for firing him was that he couldn’t get his players to play consistently. The players would tone-in some games and then tone-out during other games. Even Lebron James has indicated in a recent report his preference for playing for a coach that has played in the NBA.
According to a source, one thing James has let the organization know is that he’s interested in a coach that has played in the NBA. Scott, who had a good relationship with James’ close friend Chris Paul, would fit that bill. That is why the Cavs are so interested.
Big Ray
June 11th, 2010
11:51 am
This just in, guys…
The ASG has made a decision.
They’ve decided to have a forum on a committee to appoint a time to have a caucus on when to think about having that conference call.
cp
June 11th, 2010
11:53 am
Lol Big Ray. I think Clyde and myself were wondering 2 years ago how much different this team would be if David McDavid had actually bought this team instead of the ASG. It looks like Sund is finding out why BK said he would rather leave than come back another year. If you don’t trust your gm to make the decisions then why even have one? Sund seems like a pretty good basketball guy. Let him make the decisions and stop the foolishness. Drew will probably get the job and the crazy thing about that is if the owners had let BK do his job Drew would have been the coach years ago anyway…. I don’t think you can hold Drew being Woodrows assistant against him. All he could do is offer suggestions to Woodrow. The Woodpecker came out numerous times and said his assistants tried to convince him to try other things but he wouldn’t listen. I’m sorry but you cant blame that on Drew. At the end of the day it was up to Woodrow to either listen to the advice or ignore it. And we have all seen how stubborn he is so most times he just ignored it.
Big Ray
June 11th, 2010
12:00 pm
Well said, Flash . I see you’re still lurking, though far less often…
Big Ray
June 11th, 2010
12:02 pm
CP
I couldn’t agree more, my friend…
terrell
June 11th, 2010
12:36 pm
Will 1 person, and 1 person only, please buy this freakin team?
terrell
June 11th, 2010
12:41 pm
Dr. Warren, the Falcons were rebuilding when they hired Mike Smith. Thats a totally different situation. It’s ok to hire the “no name” coach, if you will. Example: Mike Woodson.
O'Brien
June 11th, 2010
12:41 pm
Cleveland has their plan A (Izzo) and plan B (Byron Scott). The Clippers are rumored to be waiting until after July 1 to hire a coach (they want to gauge LbJ’s interest, and which coach he likes). Mike Woodson was let go on May 14, and the Hawks have no idea who the next coach will be.
If I’m JJ, I am signing with the Bulls (assuming the money is close), because I think they have better players, and better ownership.
PG – Rose is way better than any of the Hawks PGs
SF – Deng is better than Marvin
PF – Josh is better than the Bulls PF
Center – Although I give Horford the edge, Noah is good enough to keep it close.
Not to mention, the Bulls can sign one big name FA outright, and SNT for another one. Plus I would rate Thibodeau over Drew, Jackson, and Casey.
Ramon
June 11th, 2010
12:42 pm
While we’re talking about what are the ASG members going to do, the question I would like to pose is, what David Stern going to do about the officiating which seems to get worse every year? The worse the referees get, the worse the NBA seems. I can’t even say the referees have been cheating, because they’ve made bad calls to all 32 NBA teams. Something has to be done.
terrell
June 11th, 2010
12:47 pm
MC, you think Byron’s an a..hole? Well at least he gives his bench an opportunity to play, lets his rookies play through their mistakes, and never blames his players after losses. Now that’s an a..hole for ya!
terrell
June 11th, 2010
12:51 pm
And MC , if you dont think more fans would show up if we hired Rivers, Avery, or Scott, as opposed to Drew, or Casey, you must be smoking.
terrell
June 11th, 2010
12:52 pm
And people, MARK JACKSON ISN’T LEAVING ABC TO BE AN ASSISTANT COACH. Jesus!
Ramon
June 11th, 2010
12:56 pm
Terrell, actually its the opposite. The only rookie Byron let play through mistakes was CP3, and that’s because he had no one else on the bench to replace them. Byron doesn’t have an offense that’s creative and productive either. Not saying he wouldn’t win with the Hawks, but I think he’s more like Woody than he’s different from Woody.
The Truth
June 11th, 2010
1:00 pm
Whether Lebron James realized it at the time, but by him making the statement suggesting he’s only interested in a coach that has played in the NBA, means he will not be playing for Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat (just to name a few teams with non-NBA player coaches)
D.W.
June 11th, 2010
1:01 pm
Hopefully whatever decision is made it works out good. After this they need to move agressively forward with some player moves, like trading Josh Smith. I’m fine with him going somewhere else and being a superstar if that’s his destiny.
O'Brien
June 11th, 2010
1:07 pm
The Truth,
I wouldnt put too much into it though. These guys will say a lot of stuff, but in the end, it will come down to money, and the ability to win.
Ramon,
I would have been okay with Byron Scott, but I wasn’t that impressed with him either. But thats the thing about coaching hires. If the coaches were that good, they would not be unemployed.
They all have their flaws. Who would be the best fit? I dont know. If I had to choose between Drew, Jackson, and Casey, I think I would go with Casey (but he has to bring in very experienced assistants). But I would be okay with Drew too.
Ramon
June 11th, 2010
1:18 pm
O’Brien, hears a name for you. Del Harris. I wonder would management be willing to spend to bring Del Harris as a top assistant for either one of the three.
Ramon
June 11th, 2010
1:20 pm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Del_Harris
terrell
June 11th, 2010
1:36 pm
Ramon, he played his young players,(didnt have many), and his bench players. Julian Wright, Hilton Armstrong, Pargo, Rasual Butler, Ely,, etc. They all got decent min, and I never seen him scald any of them for making a freakin mistake.
The Truth
June 11th, 2010
1:38 pm
O’Brien
With a player like Lebron James, money is perhaps his least concern since he knows that’s a given no matter what team pursues him. I will agree that “the ability to win” is his most pressing concern and perhaps the reason he made the statement. His statement also revealed an issue he may have had with Mike Brown who also has no NBA player experience.
DC
June 11th, 2010
1:40 pm
ASG….PLEASE PLEASE sell the Hawks to a rich basketball fan who do what’s right for the fans. Picture no one wanting to come play with the Hawks because of ownership and us fans dreading to pay full price for a ticket to benefit an ownership group that does not give a crap.
MARK CUBAN please by the HAWKS.
Arthur Bkank you too, PLEEEAASSEE!!
O'Brien
June 11th, 2010
1:48 pm
Ramon,
I would like having a Guy like del Harris on the bench, regardless of who gets the HC job.
I would like a Guy like maurice cheeks too (former sixers HC who was an assistant with Scott Brooks in OKC staff).
Terrell,
What I read about Byron Scott is that his success was due mostly to the talent of Kidd and CP3 running the show, not necessarily his coaching.
Ramon
June 11th, 2010
1:57 pm
@ O’Brien I would too! Harris was the head coach of over 10 playoff teams. Now that I think about it, I would love to be able to have Mark Jackson with Harris (or Cheeks) as the lead assistant. With a situation like that, you get the best of both worlds, experience with the name. Actually I wouldn’t be disappointed if Harris was the HEAD COACH. He’s just as good of a candidate as the three that’s left.
northcyde
June 11th, 2010
1:57 pm
terrell
June 11th, 2010
12:51 pm
And MC , if you dont think more fans would show up if we hired Rivers, Avery, or Scott, as opposed to Drew, or Casey, you must be smoking.
*******************
Terrell . . . the Atlanta fan base might show up for those first few games to see a Doc Rivers. But it’s not like they’re going to show up to more games, simply because Doc is the coach. If we’re a mediocre team at home, they’ll stop showing up altogether.
Shoot . . we won 34 home games, the most in about 15 years, and the fans showed up LESS than they did in 2009.
**********************
terrell
June 11th, 2010
12:52 pm
And people, MARK JACKSON ISN’T LEAVING ABC TO BE AN ASSISTANT COACH. Jesus!
***************
LOL . . now THIS we agree with. He’s not leaving a job like that to be an assistant coach. He may be getting paid more doing commentary, than he would being an assistant.